A series problem which has always existed in the bakery industry relates to the matter of staling as perceived by the firming of the food product due to moisture loss. This is especially true in a fried bakery product such as a donut because of its low moisture and high fat content surface and high moisture content inside the product. The moisture of the fried baked product will migrate from the high vapor pressure area (inside the product) to the low vapor pressure area (low moisture surface) until equilibrium in the vapor pressure and moisture is reached. As this process continues the inside portion of the product known as the crumb has a decrease in moisture content which contributes to the perceived staleness and hardening of the fried bakery product. Donuts contained in a storage box become firm and slightly mealy after 2 or 3 days. When a coating such as chocolate or compound is applied to a fried bakery product, these products, especially the donuts, firmed very rapidly and were less desirable for eating after 1 to 2 days. The rapid firming is due to the rapid moisture migration from the crumb of the fried bakery product to the coating of the product.
There have been many techniques suggested to overcome the moisture migration in a fried bakery product. In Silva et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,572 the prior art describes many outer coating compositions unrelated to the present invention. Silva et al describes a method of coating a multicomponent baked or fried bakery food product with an edible effective moisture barrier. This coating consisted of a mixture of saccharide, polysaccharide or dextrin; water and an emulsified acetylated monoglycerides triglycerides. The coating formed on the baked products apparently was a satisfactory moisture barrier but the composition is different than the more predictable composition used in the present invention. Other satisfactory protective coating compositions include McReynolds et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,714 which describes coating a bakery product with a chocolate product containing calcium stearate to retard moisture loss. Colten et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,713 describes a moisture barrier coating for baked products by incorporating into a chocolate coating a minor amount of an alkali or alkaline earth metal derivative of isolated soy protein. Lang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,714 describes a glaze composition for a bakery product as a moisture barrier which comprises a dextrin component, water, chemical preservative and an edible acid. In the present invention, a unique coating composition has been discovered which controls a moisture migration for fried bakery products especially for chocolate coated donuts which remain soft in texture and of stable quality over extended periods of time.